Turtles, Lava, and a Gecko (365:31)

Today we went to Kukio beach on the Kona Coast. I had my bathing suit, but truth be told, I didn’t use it. I was having far too much fun walking around with my camera.

In one little cove I saw 7 or 8 honu (sea turtles). (Yep, trying to get some of the language.) I’d never seen one in person before, but I knew enough not to bother them. So despite some of the extreme closeups below, I kept my distance. Though at one point, one of them did swim right past the rock I was standing on. But I figure he (or she?) came close to me, so that’s ok. In short, no honu were disturbed. :)

(Click on the photos below to view them larger)

Kukio beach certainly has some nice sandy spots, but I was drawn to the lava. At first I was having a really hard time “seeing” anything other than big black rocks. But after spending some quality time with the turtles, I slowed down and looked closer.

There are two types of lava found on land — ‘a’a and pahoehoe. ‘A’a is the rough sharp-edged variety that, as my brother so aptly put it, makes you want to say “ah! ah!” if you walk on it with bare feet. Pahoehoe is smoother and can have a more undulating shape. The light was tough at midday, but I did what I could to try and capture some of the interesting shapes and even some colors.

(Click on the photos below to view them larger)

The final shot of the day is a bit of a departure from the earlier photos. We went for another little stroll around my brother’s place and came across this compost heap in an undeveloped area. I had my fixed lens on so I couldn’t believe that this little guy didn’t scurry away when I leaned in to frame the shot. I was told that this one is a Madagascar day gecko.